Remembering Billy Todd (#427)
On August 31, 2004, I wrote...
...there
is another bass singing legend that is about to put his suit in the
closet. Billy Todd, currently with the Dixie Echoes, announced this
past weekend that he was coming off the road. Clearly, another case of
a well-earned retirement. I first knew of Billy Todd through
some old Florida Boys records (the big round black things with the
teeny-tiny hole in the center) my parents had. I don't remember seeing
Billy in concert with them because by the time I was old enough to
comprehend what I was seeing, Billy had already left the quartet. But
nevertheless, I knew who Billy Todd was - and still is. Practically
everyone I know in this industry holds Billy in the highest regard and
bass singers of all ages more than respect his singing talent. They
have to - I've seen Billy, even in his 70s, blow most bass singers off
the stage with notes that are concrete solid. If he was having a good
night, most bass singers were hoping that their group would sing before
the Dixie Echoes. And, when the group gathered around just two mikes to
recreate the old quartet days, Billy would become the master of bass
singing...A little over four years later, Billy has taken his seat in the heavenly choir.
As
some of you probably already know, Billy struggled with Alzheimer's
Disease when he should have been enjoying retirement with his beloved
wife, Jane. But despite missing out on that, Billy would be the first
to tell you that he wouldn't miss Heaven for anything.
When you
hear of someone passing away, there's a tendency to immediately focus
on one certain thing about that person. For example, when I learned
that Glen Payne had passed away almost ten years ago, I instantly
thought of how he'd rattle the change in his pocket when he was getting
antsy. You get the idea of what I mean.
So when Stewart Varnado
gave me the news that Billy had left us, the first thing I thought of
was how much Billy loved baseball caps. I cannot tell you the number of
times that I've seen Billy wearing an Alabama (college, not the country
music group) cap, or that of some other organization. And it never
failed - if you asked Billy how he came to own whatever cap you saw him
wearing, he could tell you the time, the place and the circumstances of
how that head gear came into his possession.
A few years ago, I
gave Billy a few hats to add to his collection. One was a Singing News
cap, another was a generic Southern Gospel hat. Every time he saw me
after that, he gave me an update of where those hats fell into his
latest pecking order of the hats he owned!
Beyond that, Billy
Todd was a true gentleman and class act. He always had a smile on his
face and a kind word for everyone he met. And, as we all know,
sometimes those kind of people are hard to find. But you could always
count on Billy.
Always.There's
no need me to offer a lot of Billy Todd stories here as many of them
will be shared in the coming weeks at concerts everywhere. I'm just
thankful that God allowed Billy to escape the suffering he endured at
the hands of one of the cruelest diseases this world has ever known.
But,
God, if You'd allow me just one request...I don't know if You give out
baseball caps in Heaven, but if You do, will You make sure Billy gets
the best one You've got?
